24 MAY 2018

Bellow Warning For Miranda

Tony Bellew warned Edison Miranda he will pay for claiming he had never heard of him by hitting the canvas on Saturday night (September 8) as their clash headlines the Betfair ‘London Calling’ bill live on Sky Sports from Alexandra Palace, north London.

Miranda mocked the British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion before arriving in the UK by saying he hadn’t heard of the 29 year old.

Bellew acknowledged that ‘Pantera’ a true danger-man with 30 KOs in his 35 wins, but ‘Bomber’ told today’s press conference that Miranda will return home in no doubt as to whom he is.

“I am nobody to him,” said Bellew. “But on Saturday he will find out who I am and what I’m about and it is going to be painful how he is going to find out.

“I chose Edison Miranda, Edison Miranda did not choose me. I am here because I wanted this fight. I believe in myself and it is nice to see Eddie Hearn does and Saturday night we are going to see.

“It is exciting what he is saying but can he back that up. I have fought for World title, possibly not against as dangerous a boxer as Miranda but someone more accomplished. He brings danger and excitement to the table and I do to, so it sounds a good mix.”

Miranda is a 5-1 shot with Betfair to carry out his threat to KO Bellew and then hunt down a fight with three-time World super middleweight king Carl Froch, but the Liverpool man – 5-6 to end the fight inside the distance – is happy for Miranda to look to the future.

“He is looking past me already but I am not looking past Miranda,” said Bellew. “He is a dangerous fighter but this is about me not about him. He can go on about Carl Froch all he wants but I am not listening all I am thinking is he has to get in with me. I pose different threats so we will see, come Saturday we find out what it is about.

“The last thing a fighter of Edison Miranda’s calibre loses is his punch; he will always be blessed with that punch. He has lost seven times so there is a blueprint to beat him, I have seen that. I have seen him beaten, seen him stopped and seen him beaten up. There is no blueprint to beat me so he has to find one. He will get a shock.

“With 10 ounce gloves everybody is a puncher so we will see. I remember somebody saying before, Danny McIntosh said I am not a puncher and that is the last time somebody said that to me.”

Bellew and Miranda top a fantastic Betfair ‘London Calling’ bill in north London on Saturday with Lee Purdy’s IBF International welterweight title shot against unbeaten Argentine Gumersindo Carrasco offering a chief support act that guarantees excitement.

“Everything has gone well and I am grateful for the opportunity Eddie Hearn has given me and I want a great performance on Saturday night,” said Purdy. “I am expecting him to come forward and fire big shots and as long as I am careful in first few rounds I am confident I can make an impression and maybe take him out late.”

Bellew and Purdy headline a great season opener on Sky Sports with exciting light middleweight star Erick Ochieng defending his English title for the second time against Southern Area champ Ryan Toms, hotly tipped Islington middleweight John Ryder will also be in action while popular unbeaten Chris ‘The Flash’ Evangelou fights for the first title of his career when he tackles Danny Connor for the vacant Southern Area light welterweight title.

There is a debut for Team GB star Iain Weaver who hopes to follow the example set by Kal Yafai when he stopped Delroy Spencer on his debut in July. Yafai fights for the second time as a pro, as does cruiserweight prospect Wadi Camacho and Ryan ‘Crash Bang’ Taylor completes the line-up in his seventh pro outing.